5 Tips to Get Your Thank-You Notes Done in Less Than 2 Hours

We know, we know—you want your wedding day to last forever. Which might make you find a bit of solace in knowing that even after the DJ spins the last song of the night and all of your guests head home, your wedding to-do list still has one big task for you to complete: thank-you notes.

Letting your guests know that you appreciate them for helping you celebrate your wedding, whether that was by sending well wishes or by attending the celebration, is the best way to close up shop on your wedding. Not to mention, it makes your closet friends and family members feel good about all that they did to help make the day wonderful for you and your new spouse.

If you’re eager to get those thank-you notes out of the way so you can jet off on your honeymoon or just get some much-needed rest, here are five tips to knock them out in less than two hours.

1. KISS Them

While you might be tempted to write each and every guest a long thank-you note that echoes sentiments of gratefulness and takes the time to recall the best memories from your wedding, KISS your cards: Keep it short and simple.

If there are a handful of people that you really want to go above and beyond in thanking, set their cards to the side and give them personalized attention after finishing everyone else's.

2. Go With a Fill-in-the-Blank Method

One easy way to get through them with speed and grace is to stick to a template. Just fill in the blank based on the person and the gift they gave you.

You can start each note with a line or two thanking them for either coming to your wedding or for sending a gift. Then explain either how you plan to put that gift to use or how grateful you are for the gift they gave you.

After that, wish them well by either referencing when you look forward to seeing them again or just letting them know you hope to celebrate another great occasion with them soon.

3. Split the List in Half

It might be overwhelming to eyeball a list of hundreds of people you have to write a mini-letter to. To make the process fly by, split the list in half. Work for 20 minutes straight and then take a five-minute break. Dividing and conquering with short breaks will make the two hours productive and help you finish these thank-you cards in no time.

4. Consider a Postcard

While you might have your eyes and your heart set on investing in special stationery for your thank-you cards, instead consider doing a postcard. That way, you have a smaller amount of space to fill with writing a note and you don't have to worry about stuffing envelopes, which can cut out a good chunk of time when you're working on 100 or 200 thank-you cards.

5. Go Virtual

It might seem like you're ditching the personal aspect to your thank-you cards, but going virtual is a great way of creating a personalized guest experience where not only can you send an e-card with a typed note (longer than the one you could ever handwrite for each guest) but you can also send them a video clip or photo from the wedding.